Filmmaker Tanwarin Sukkhapisit was elected to the House of Representatives
Thailand on Sunday (24 March) elected its first transgender member of the House of Representatives.
It was the first general elections since a military coup in 2014.
Filmmaker Tanwarin Sukkhapisit won a seat for the Future Forward Party (FFP).
FFP, the biggest challenge to the military’s party, included a slew of LGBTI policies in their election manifesto.
Reports on Monday, however, suggested they had not gained enough seats to control parliament.
Tanwarin Sukkhapisit decided to run for office with FFP after a five-year legal battle over a film Sukkhapisit made.
In the end, Thai censors removed a nude scene before it could be shown.
Most LGBTI-inclusive elections yet?
After half a decade of military junta rule, up to 52 million Thais went to the polls this weekend.
Most political parties included LGBTI policies, such as same-sex partnerships, in their manifestos.
FFP had promised to amend the Civil Code to make marriage between persons rather than a man and a woman.
They also proposed LGBTI-inclusive changes to the curriculum.
Meanwhile, trans woman Pauline Ngarmpring made history in these elections by running for Prime Minister.
She’s a member of the pro-LGBTI Mahachon Party.
Ngarmpring and the Mahachon Party have made headlines with their slogan ‘Diversity is Thailand’s Pride’.
The party is fielding more than 20 LGBTI candidates.
by Rik Glauert
Source – Gay Star News
